Marissa Jackson and the Titan's Wrath
by ThatDamPercyJacksonFan
Summary: When Marissa Jackson was attacked by a monster during detention, her entire world was turned upside down. Now, she has to deal with a world full of demigods, monsters, and gods. To make matters worse, the titans are arising from Tartarus. Marissa may be the only one with the power to stop them. But will she be up to the challenge?
1. I have the worst detention ever

**Chapter 1. I have the worst detention of my life.**

My name is Marissa Jackson. I have my mother's blonde hair and my dad's sea green eyes. My parents saved the world twice. Unfortunately, they didn't tell me about that, or else the story you are about to read would've never happened. Then again, some pretty great stuff did happen to me. What happened to me? Well, I guess you'll just have to read on and see.

It all started when I was late to class (again). Mrs. Ambrose was not please to have to stop class because of me.

"Ms. Jackson, are you aware that this is the third time this week you have been late to this class?" she asked me, right in front of everyone.

I grumbled out an apology. I didn't really see the point in showing up to class. I knew it all. I got solid A pluses. My dad didn't even care if I cut class, as long as my grades stayed up. My mom, however was a different story.

"You better be sorry," Mrs. Ambrose told me. "I will be having a word with you after class. Take your seat now."

I trudged to the back of the classroom and plopped down into my seat. For the entire class period, I made a point of not even writing down the equation whenever Mrs. Ambrose asked me to solve a problem. It was all way too easy.

After class was over, I tried slipping out the door before Mrs. Ambrose noticed I was gone, but that did not work.

"Ms. Jackson," she said the moment I got my foot out the door. "I believe I told you to stay in this classroom."

"But I'm going to miss the bus," I protested.

"Not a problem," Mrs. Ambrose told me. "I'm going to be calling in your parents to discuss your behavior. Take a seat."

I immediately walked back over to my desk and took a seat while Mrs. Ambrose pulled out a cell phone.

My mother would not be happy. For the past few weeks, she had been designing a huge monument to put in central park and today was the first day of construction. She hated being interrupted at work.

My dad, on the other hand, wouldn't even care. He'd probably even take me out for ice cream after my mom had gone back to work. He was funny that way.

It didn't take long before my parents were walking through the door. My mom glared at me like she was going to ground me for a year. My dad grinned and winked at me like it was all some big joke.

"You might want to take a seat," Mrs. Ambrose told them. "This may take a while."

My parents and Mrs. Ambrose started on this big discussion about my behavior. Dad looked like he was trying to to laugh until Mom glared at him and muttered something that sounded like "Not now, Seaweed Brain."

"... I think it is only fair that Marissa joins me in Saturday detention tomorrow," Mrs. Ambrose finished.

"What?" I questioned. "I can't come to detention tomorrow."

"And why ever not?" Mrs. Ambrose asked me.

"I have a life, you know," I said. "There are these people called friends that... you know... I like to hang out with."

"Well these _friends _of yours will have to wait," Mrs. Ambrose said. "I will see you tomorrow." She turned to my parents. "You can take her home now."

We started walking out of the school, my mom glaring daggers at me the whole way there. She say anything until my dad had started the car.

"How could you be so irresponsible, Marissa?" she asked me. "You're _thirteen._ I thought you would know better than this."

I sunk down in my seat, as if it would somehow make me disappear or something.

"And Saturday detention?" Mom continued. "I can't believe this."

"Me neither," Dad said. "What kind of school makes kids go to detention of a _Saturday?_"

My mom glared at him.

"Not now, Percy," she told him.

My dad just shrugged.

"You, young lady, are grounded," my mom told me. "No TV. No friends. Nothing until you can learn how to behave."

"But that's not fair!" I protested. "I mean, I might not show up to class on time, but I've got straight A _pluses_. You can't beat that."

"That is not the point, Marissa," Mom said. "This interrupted my work and now this project may be delayed _weeks._ This is serious."

I was silent the rest of the way home, staring out the window and doing my best to ignore my mom's scolding.

When we went home, my dad and I went inside while my mom had to rush back to work. The moment we walked into the door, my dad broke into a wide grin.

"I'd have done that when I was in school," he told me. "And, just between us, I think your mom was overreacting just a bit."

"A bit?" I questioned.

Dad shrugged.

"You know how she hates being interrupted when she gets wrapped up in a big project."

"What am I supposed to do now?" I asked. "I'm grounded."

"You can watch TV," Dad told me. "Just make sure you don't get caught."

I grinned. I figured my dad would say that.

"I'll be in the living room," I told him.

When I got in there, I plopped down on the couch, setting my book bag next to me. I grabbed the remote and turned on the television. It was on the history channel, which meant that my mom had been the last one to watch it. I switched to Animal Planet. An ocean documentary was on, which I found sorta interesting, so I left it on.

A few minutes later, my dad came in and sat next to me to watch TV with me. Every now and then, he'd burst out laughing with no explanation, but I ignored him. It was pretty normal behavior for him.

A while later, we heard a car pulling into the driveway, so my dad quickly turned off the TV and I grabbed a book out of my book bag and pretended to read.

Mom walked into the room. She studied me suspiciously for a moment before shrugging and walking out of the room.

I quickly shoved the book in my book bag and headed upstairs to my room. I dropped my book bag on the bed, gazing at the mural that had been on my wall for as long as I remembered. It was a mural of the ocean. I thought it was awesome. I was obsessed with the sea. Ask me any question about it, and I could answer it in great detail. Something about the ocean was just so calming... so peaceful. I couldn't quite put my finger on it.

I started to do my homework, but it didn't take me long. I blew through the whole stack in a matter of minutes. It was way too easy.

"Dinner's ready!" my mom shouted.

I immediately rushed out of my room and to the kitchen.

My parents and I sat around the table and we began to eat our meal of pizza with extra olives and blue cherry coke. (I have no idea how the coke turned blue, but my dad liked it, which was good enough enough for me.)

After dinner, I went back up to my room since I had nothing better to do. I layed on my back and stared up at the ceiling for what felt like forever. I considered sneaking out, but thought better of it. Last time, both of my parents had overreacted like I'd get myself killed or something. As if.

That night, I went to bed early.

* * *

><p>"Wake up, Marissa." My mom woke me up. "You need to get ready to go to your detention."<p>

I got up and got dressed in half-asleep trance. I walked out to the kitchen and ate a blueberry pop-tart for breakfast.

My mom drove me to the school and I trudged inside. Mrs. Ambrose was waiting for me.

"Marissa," she greeted me. "It seems that you are the only student in detention today."

"Lucky me," I muttered.

We walked to her classroom, where we sat in mind-numbingly boring silence. It felt like forever, but it was probably only minutes before Mrs. Ambrose spoke.

"You wait in here," she said. "I'll be back."

There was a glint in her eyes that was almost... inhuman. I didn't get much of a chance to dwell on that before she turned and walked out of the room.

I stared at the clock for five solid minutes before anything happened.

There was a loud noise coming from the hallway, almost like a screech. I immediately jumped to my feet to see what was going on. That's when the door flew open.

I was sure I was hallucinating when this weird bat-monster lady thing flew into the room, carrying a whip.

"Whoa..." I took a huge step backwards, my heart pounding in my chest. "What are you?"

"Didn't your parents ever teach you manners?" the monster questioned in a voice that sounded almost like...

"Mrs. Ambrose?" I questioned. I took another step backwards.

So my math teacher was a monster. Was I surprised? I think that's an understatement.

"That is not my true name," the monster-thing hissed at me. "Unfortunately, you will not live long enough to learn it. Goodbye, Marissa. Enjoy the underworld."

The monster lunged at me and I instinctively did a barrel roll to the side. I mentally thanked my parents for the seemingly meaningless years in gymnastics.

I grabbed a text book and flung it at the monster, which seemed to disorient it for a moment.

I immediately turned and sprinted out of the room. The monster followed me. Of course.

"You cannot run from me!" the monster bellowed. It cracked its whip in my direction, barely missing me.

"I can try!" I shouted. I ran until I reached the front door. I tried opening it, but it would not budge.

I turned around, but the monster was blocking my path.

"Game's over," it said. "Prepare to die."

That's excatly when a bunch of arrows flew through the window on the door, shattering the glass and piercing the monster's body. The monster instantly vaporized to a pile of dust.

I turned around and tried to open the door again. Oddly enough, it opened easily.

A group of girls stood together, cheering and giving each other high fives. None of them looked much older than me. They immediately fell silent when they saw me.

One girl walked up to me. I guessed that she was about fifteen. She had jet black hair and electric blue eyes. She stood in front of me, studying me for what felt like forever.

"You look like your mom," she commented.

"How do you know my mom?" I asked.

"Trust me," she said. "I've known your parents for a long time."

"You don't look old enough to have known my parents for a long time," I said. "You barely look older than me."

The girl laughed.

"Trust me," she said. "I'm older than I look." She studied me for another moment. "Marissa, right?"

"How do you know my name?" I asked.

"I told you, I've known your parents for a long time," she said. "Besides, we've met before. You were too young to remember it."

"Wait, hold on." I made a time-out signal with my hands. "What the heck is going on?"

"I suppose your parents haven't told you yet," the girl said. "Well, better late than never."

"Who are you and what are you talking about?" I asked.

"Thalia Grace, daughter of Zeus."

She extended her hand out to me, but I ignored it.

"Your dad can't be Zeus," I said. "That's not possible. He's a Greek god. Just a myth."

"And that monster chasing you?" Thalia asked. "Was that a myth?"

"Well, no but..."

"There," Thalia interrupted. "My point exactly."

"You are completely psycho," I said.

"Obviously we aren't getting anywhere," Thalia said. "Where are your parents? I'll take you to them."

"I'm not telling you," I said. "I just met you. Besides, I'm sure I can find my way home on my own."

"You are not safe," Thalia told me. "You will not be safe until you receive the proper training."

"The proper training? What is that supposed to mean?"

Thalia shook her head.

"Can't tell you," she said. "Too dangerous."

"Dangerous?" I asked. "How could telling me something be dangerous?"

"The more you know, the more they'll come after you," Thalia said simply.

"They?" I asked. "Who's they?"

"The monsters, of course," she told me. "Now, seriously, where're your parents?"

"Dad's probably at home," I said, "but Mom'll be really mad if she's interrupted at work two days in a row."

"Trust me," Thalia said. "She won't mind. This is important."

She turned towards the group of other girls.

"Go on without me," she ordered them. "Tell Lady Artemis that I have some important business to attend to."

The girls followed her orders without question. They immediately began walking away.

"Come on." Thalia turned back to me. "We're going to your place."

"Do you even know where I live?" I asked.

"Of course I do," Thalia said. "I've visited your parents a lot. While you were at school, of course."

"Where did you guys even meet?" I asked. "I have no idea what's going on. I hate not knowing things."

"The more you question me, the longer it'll take for you to find out what's going," Thalia said. "Now, come on."

She didn't even wait for me to respond before she turned and started walking down the street, towards my house.

I had no choice but to follow her.


	2. I meet the Horse Dude

**Chapter 2. I meet the Horse Dude**

"Okay, let me get this straight," I said. "All the Greek myths are real and you guys are... demigods?"

" 'Fraid so," my dad responded.

I looked around the kitchen, trying to wrap my mind around what I'd been told in the last twenty minutes. It was all so hard to take in.

"And... what does that make me?" I asked.

"A legacy," my mom told me. "Generally speaking, a legacy is a child of a demigod, but both your father and I are demigods, which makes things a little different."

"Different?" I asked. "How so?"

"Monsters will be able to track you more than the average legacy," Mom said. "You'll give off a scent more like the average demigod."

"Scent?" I asked. "You mean they can smell me? That's kinda creepy."

"I know its a lot to take in, but you have to trust us, Marissa," she said. "We need to get you to camp as soon as possible." She turned towards my dad. "Call Chiron. Let him know we're coming."

"We're just going to go now?" I asked. "In the middle of the school year?"

"You weren't concerned about school before," Mom said.

"Yeah, but... that's where my friends are," I said.

My mom rested one hand on my shoulder.

"Listen to me, Marissa," she said. "This is a life or death situation. And, believe me you'll make plenty of friends at camp."

Dad walked into the room, shutting his cell phone.

"We should go," he said.

"Right," Mom said standing up. She turned to me. "You ready?"

"Ready as I'll ever be," I replied, standing up.

The three of us walked out of the house and got into the car.

My dad seemed on edge as he got into the passenger seat. He pulled a ballpoint pen out of his pocket and gripped it like a lifeline. I decided not to ask about that.

My mom started the car and we began moving down the street.

It didn't take long until we were getting out of the car again. Maybe about twenty minutes. Soon, we were walking up a hill and past a huge pine tree with a blanket-looking thing draped over a low branch and a dragon wrapped around the trunk.

"Hey, Peleus," my dad called to the dragon, smiling slightly. "Long time no see."

My first view of camp was breathtaking. All the cabins looked like something you'd see in ancient Greece, except they looked brand-new. I have to say, my favorite part was the beach.

We walked into the camp and towards this huge blue house. From a distance, I could see a man standing on the porch, leaning on a staff. When we got closer, realized that he had the bottom half of a horse.

"Uh... what's with the horse dude?" I asked my parents.

My dad immediately burst out laughing.

"He's a centaur, Marissa," Mom said.

I suddenly remembered learning about centaurs and a bunch of other Greek stuff in class.

I shrugged.

"Close enough."

We stopped at the bottom of the porch steps.

"Hey, Chiron," my dad greeted the centaur.

"Percy, Annabeth, it's nice to see you again," Chiron greeted my parents. He turned to me. "And you must be Marissa. Its nice to finally meet you."

He gave me a friendly smile.

It took me a moment to realize that I was staring at him.

"Uh... sorry," I said quickly. "I've never met a centaur before. I mean, Dude, you're half horse."

"Don't worry, I get that a lot," Chiron assured me. He turned to my mom and dad. "I'll take it from here."

Each of my parents wrapped one arm around me.

"Stay safe," my dad told me.

"Don't go on any quests," Mom told me. "I don't want you putting yourself in danger."

"I love you guys," I told them.

My mom kissed my forehead. They broke the hug.

I watched my parents walk away.

"Come," Chiron told me. "I'll show you around."

I followed Chiron around the camp. He showed me everything, which I thought was pretty awesome. He ended our tour in the center of the square of cabins.

"Which one's mine?" I asked him.

"This is highly unusual," Chiron said. "Since you are the legacy of not one, but two gods, you get to choose. Either Athena..." He pointed towards the Athena cabin with one finger. "...or Poseidon."

When he pointed to the Poseidon cabin, I felt immediately attracted to it. My feet seemed to move towards it on their own.

I looked around. It was completely empty. All the bunks look like they hadn't been slept in for years.

"This cabin's been quite empty since your father left camp," Chiron told me. "He was the first and only child of Poseidon to make home in Camp Half-blood. You're welcome to stay here if you'd like."

I took another look around the cabin. I took a deep breath, breathing in the salty smelling air. It was so peaceful, like the ocean itself.

"I'd like that," I said. "This is the cabin for me."

"Chiron! Chiron!" A brown-haired boy wearing an orange t-shirt ran up to Chiron, out of breath. "The forge... it caught on fire."

"I'll be right on it, James," Chiron said. "I'll..."

"I can fix it," I said automatically, surprising even myself. I wasn't sure why, but I thought... I _knew_ that I could do something about this.

"Marissa, I don't think..."

"No, really," I told Chiron. "I got this." I turned to James. "Take me to the forge."

James seemed startled by this, but immediately turned and started to lead me to the forge.

"You sure you can help?" he asked.

I nodded.

"Positive."

We arrived at the forge, and the whole thing was on fire.

What happened next was a blur. It was like my instincts suddenly kicked in. There was a tugging sensation in my gut and a wall of water suddenly came crashing down. Not only on the forge, but everywhere, soaking everyone around me. For some reason, I had stayed completely dry.

Everyone looked startled that they were suddenly all wet, but then started cheering me on for some reason.

Chiron walked up beside me.

"Everybody," he announced. "Meet Marissa Jackson, legacy of Poseidon and Athena, daughter of the famous Percy Jackson and Annabeth Chase."

Everybody started clapping and walking up to me to introduce themselves. Their names sort of all blended together. Anne, Josh, Nick, Toby, Duncan... there were more, but I just couldn't remember.

"That was pretty cool," James told me. "How long did it take you to practice that little trick?"

"I've... uh... never done that before," I admitted.

James looked at me like he thought I was joking.

"Seriously?" he asked. "You acted like a pro."

"I didn't even know about all of this until today," I said.

"You certainly are an interesting person, Marissa," he said. "Allow me to formally introduce myself. James Greene, son of Hephaestus, at your service." He extended an oil-splattered hand to me and I shook it.

"Nice to meet you." I gave him a slight smile.

"If you ever want to hang out, you can probably find me in the forge," he told me.

"I'll keep that in mind," I replied.

"Yo, Greene, she probably doesn't want to talk to a loser like you."

A girl butted her way in between us and held out one hand to me.

"Miranda Turner, daughter of Ares," she introduced herself. "If you don't want to be seen hanging out with losers, just find me."

"Yeah, no thanks." I pushed Miranda's hand away. "I feel rather fond of losers. They're much better than brutes like yourself."

Miranda scowled at me.

"Do you realize what you just said?" she questioned. "I am the head of the Ares cabin. Me and my siblings can make your life a living Hades."

I smirked.

"My siblings and I," I corrected her grammar. "Geez, were you raised in a barn?"

That did not make Miranda a very happy camper. She shoved me to the ground.

"Listen here, punk," she told me. "You may be Daddy's little girl, but around here, _I'm _the head honcho. And believe me, sweet cheeks. Daddy's not here."

I stood up, noticing that a crowd of campers had gathered around us.

"What are you going to do, fight me?" Miranda questioned.

"Of course I'm not," I said. "That would be stooping to your level." I gave her the sweetest smile I could muster, which made her scowl again. "Have a nice day."

I turned and walked away, heading back towards the Poseidon cabin.

"Marissa, wait up!" James called to me.

I stopped walking so that he could catch up.

"That was pretty sweet," he said. "I don't know anyone else willing to stand up to Miranda like that."

I waved a hand dismissively.

"Don't mention it," I said. "Not a big deal."

"Not a big deal?" James asked. "You do realize that you just stood up to the daughter of the god of war?"

"Of course I do," I said. "I'm not stupid. Legacy of Poseidon and _Athena _remember."

"Of course I remember that, but..." James's voice faltered. "Look... you stood up for me. No one's ever done that before. Thanks. I appreciate it."

I shrugged.

"No big deal. I do it all the time."

"Want to hang out or something?" James asked me.

"Sure," I said. "Mind showing me around camp again? I am new here, after all."

James shrugged.

"Sounds fun," he said.

"Come on then, oil boy," I said.

James laughed slightly at that.

"Oil boy?"

I shrugged.

"You could use a nickname."

"What's that make you?" he asked. "Smart water?"

I let out a slight laugh.

"Could use a bit of improvement," I said. "I'm sure you'll work on it, though."

James laughed.

"This could be the start of a beautiful friendship," he said.

"Whatever," I replied. "Lead the way, dude."

With that, we began my second tour of the camp.


	3. James takes a dive off the deep end

**Chapter 3. James Takes a Dive off the Deep End**

James was a pretty awesome guy. We hit it off so well, that I was surprised when he made a confession to me after dinner.

"Look, Marissa," he said. "You probably don't want to be seen hanging out with me. I'm kind of an outcast."

"What?" I questioned. "No way. At least, I don't think so."

James looked away to avoid making eye contact with me.

"I mess up everything," he said. "Even my siblings don't want me around."

"Are you kidding me?" I asked. "You seem like an awesome dude."

James slowly looked towards me.

"You're the only person who seems to think that."

"I don't _think _anything," I said. "I _know _you're a great guy. Are you sure you're not exaggerating a bit?"

"Well, I do have _one _friend," he said. "At least, now I do."

"Really?" I asked. "Who?"

James laughed.

"You know, for a legacy of Athena, you can be incredibly clueless," he said. "It's you, Kelp Face. I mean, if you want to be my friend, that is."

I smirked.

"I'll take your offer into consideration," I told him.

A horn suddenly blew in the distance.

"Curfew," James told me. "Better get to your cabin."

"See you tomorrow?" I asked.

"Beach at noon."

"See ya. Don't forget."

"I won't."

With that, we both headed off to our cabins. I plopped down on the first bunk I saw. The day had been so exhausting, I was out like light.

* * *

><p>I woke up when there was a knock on the door. I instantly jumped to my feet, quickly running my fingers through my tangled hair.<p>

"Come in," I called.

A girl with blonde hair and grey eyes like my mom's walked into the room.

"Addison Jones, head counselor for the Athena cabin," she introduced herself to me. "Chiron said that you'd be joining us for training." She paused, looking me up and down. "You better get dressed. We need to get you armed. I'll wait outside the cabin."

Without waiting for me to respond, Addison turned and walked out of the cabin, closing the door behind her.

I quickly got dressed and tied my hair up into a ponytail so that it would be out of my face.

"Good, you're ready," Addison said the moment I walked out of the cabin. "Follow me."

I followed Addison to a small shed outside of the Athena cabin.

"Here, try this one out," Addison thrust a large sword into my hand.

It was much to heavy and I nearly dropped it.

"No? How about this one?"

Addison took the sword from my hand and gave me another one.

I felt the weight of it in my hand.

"Too light," I said.

This went on for a long time. Addison kept handing me swords, but none of them felt quite right in my hand. They were all either way too heavy or way to light. Not a single one felt balanced.

"How about we try something different?" Addison asked after I was sure we'd gone through every sword in the shed. She pulled out a medium length dagger and held it out to me. "Usually, I'd never suggest that a beginner start with a dagger, but you seem like a special case."

I wrapped my fingers around the hilt of the blade. It seemed perfectly balanced in my hand.

"Don't be shy,"Addison said. "Test it out."

I spun around with the dagger in hand and made a stabbing motion like I was attacking an invisible opponent. That felt pretty good, so I decided to do a little showing off. I did a cartwheel with the dagger still in my hand and then immediately stabbed my invisible opponent.

Addison let out a low whistle.

"Where'd you learn to do that?" she asked.

"Six years of gymnastics finally payed off," I told her. "Though I did learn that little trick with a baton."

Addison let out a slight laugh.

"Well, we'd better get going," she said. "The rest of the cabin already started towards the arena. Come on."

Addison and I walked side-by-side to the arena. When we got there, she showed me a few basic moves with my new dagger and offered to spar with me.

The moment we began sparring, it was like some instinct kicked on in my head. I could somehow tell what her strategy was, though I couldn't put a name to it. I found myself naturally shifting to counter her moves before they even happened. Most of the fight passed by in a blur. All I remember is beginning to spar, then I was standing over Addison with my dagger pointed at her face. Her dagger layed on the ground a few feet away.

Addison pushed the blade aside with her finger.

"Impressive," she said. "Are you sure you've never done this before?"

I nodded.

Addison studied me for a moment before standing up and retrieving her dagger.

"Let's go again," she said.

I managed to disarm her even quicker this time. I could tell that Addison was definately impressed.

"It doesn't seem like you need much help from me." Addison grabbed her dagger off the ground. "You seem to be a natural at this."

* * *

><p>It was almost noon when we finally quit training. Remembering my promise to James, I instantly began walking towards the beach, my new dagger strapped to my side. James was already there when I arrived.<p>

"I brought snacks," he said, holding up a party sized bag of potato chips and a six pack of coke.

"Uh... I thought outside food and drinks weren't allowed at camp," I said.

James shrugged.

"If you pay the right guy in the Hermes cabin, you can smuggle almost anything in this place," he said. "Now come on. I know I great place we can eat."

James led me over to the dock. We sat on the wood directly over the water and he opened up a can of soda for himself. I grabbed one, too. I opened my can of coke and took a big drink.

"So, what's up?" James asked.

I was just about to answer when I heard a jeering voice.

"What'd I tell you, Looser? This is my spot."

I looked up to see a tall, well-muscled boy who looked a couple years older than me.

"Shove off, dude," I said. "Our spot now."

The boy stared at me for a moment.

"You're the newbie," he said, like he was just discovering this information. "Look, I'll give you a fair warning. Don't get on my bad side."

I stood up, looking up right into his eyes.

"Find a new spot,"I told him.

The boy scowled.

James immediately jumped to his feet next to me.

"Listen to her, Bruce ," he said.

The boy- Bruce- did not seem happy about this.

"What, sticking up for your new girlfriend?" he asked him.

James's face went bright red.

"I'm not his girlfriend," I told Bruce. "We're just friends. Now leave."

"I dare you to try to order me around again," Bruce said.

I got a smug look on my face.

"Alright," I said. "Leave. Depart. Vacate. Move along."

"Yeah," James said. "Adios, dude."

"I'll teach you guys not to mess with me," Bruce said.

He shoved James backwards. James fell straight into the water. Without even thinking, I turned and dove in after him.

The water felt great. It seemed to fill me with energy, like I was on a sugar high. I didn't have much time to dwell on that, though.

James was flailing around wildly. He obviously didn't know how to swim. I saw him begin to sink to the bottom. I instinctively took a deep breath before propelling myself to the bottom of the lake.

I grabbed onto to James's arm. He had gone completely limp, which I guessed was not a good sign. I began pulling him up to the surface, but I quickly ran out of breath. I was going to go to the surface for some air, but I little voice in the back of my head told me that I'd be fine. I gasped in and got a breath of fresh air instead of a mouth full of lake water.

What happened next was purely on instinct. I concentrated on the water and got another tugging sensation in my gut. A jet stream formed around James and me and we rocketed up out of the water, landing on the soft sand.

James collapsed on the ground, coughing up a bunch of lakewater.

"You..." His voice cracked. "You saved my life."

"Thank you, Captain Obvious," I said. "Now stay right here. I've got someone to deal with."

I turned to Bruce, who looked really startled.

"What do you have to say for yourself?" I asked him.

Bruce smirked.

"You really _are _stupid enough to like this looser,"he said. "I'd expect more from a legacy of Athena."

I'm not even entirely sure what happened next. One moment I was standing there and the next I had my dagger to Bruce's throat.

"Don't call my friend a loser," I snapped. "Or else."

I shoved Bruce's chest before turning around and helping James to his feet.

"Come on," I said. "We're going to go tell Chiron what happened."

I didn't even wait for James to respond before I started walking. He followed me as I began to make my way to the big house.


	4. I do exactly what I was told not to do

** Chapter 4. I do exactly what I was told not to do**

"Bruce just tried to drown James and you don't even care," I snapped at Chiron for about the millionth time.

"I cannot punish him for something I did not see," Chiron said.

"Can't you see him?" I gestured towards James. "He's soaked. If I hadn't pulled him out of the lake..."

Chiron raised one hand, silencing me.

"That may be true," he said. "But this is a special case. Bruce has been known to have minor temperament issues."

"Minor?" I asked. "He nearly killed James!"

"Again, I was not there," Chiron said.

My face grew hot and I hoped that it was not as red as it felt.

"James could've _died_ and you don't even care?" I questioned. "I thought you cared about the campers."

"Marissa, you don't understand," Chiron said. "I..."

"Maybe I don't want to understand," I snapped. "Come on, James."

I turned and rushed out of the Big House, towards the cabins. It took James a minute or so to catch up with me.

"You know, its not really that big of a deal," he told me. "I'm fine now."

"Yeah, now," I said. "But you weren't."

"Listen, I've got to get down to the forge now," James said. "Meet me at the campfire?"

"Yeah," I said distantly. "See you there."

James smiled before walking away.

I walked into my cabin, shutting the door behind me, and collapsed onto my bunk. I layed there until dinner time, at which point I got up and slowly trudged to dinner.

When I sat down at my table to eat, I noticed something that I hadn't yesterday. Sitting next to Chiron at the head table was a red-headed woman about my parents' age.

I just shrugged her off as unimportant before beginning to eat my food.

About halfway through my meal, a chilling voice made me drop my spoon.

I looked up. The red-haired woman's eyes were glowing bright green.

_**"**C**hild of wisdom and the sea,**_

**_The titans your end may be_**

**_With the Forge, travel west_**

**_Find the sword that's been blessed_**

_**Follow Mom and Dad's path**_

_**Or face the titan's wrath"**_

The woman's voice sounded creepy, like three of her were talking at once. As soon as the last word was out of her mouth, she collapsed back into her chair.

Everyone turned towards me, including Chiron. I sunk down in my seat, like that would somehow make me disappear.

"It seems that we are in need of a quest," Chiron said. "Marissa Jackson, please rise."

Knees trembling, I slowly came to my feet.

I remembered my mom telling me specifically not to go on a quest. I really didn't have much of a choice at this point.

"You may choose up to two companions to come with you," Chiron told me.

I thought for a moment. _With the forge, travel west. _The forge was the symbol for Hephaestus. That could only mean...

"James," I said. "I want James to come with me."

There was a murmuring in the crowd. I guessed that James had been right. They really didn't like him.

"At least choose someone who won't mess everything up," I heard Miranda groan.

All their complaining did was make me become certain that I wanted to take James with me.

I spun around towards the Hephaestus table, where James was looking extremely confused.

"Come on, James," I said. "You might as well stand up."

James's mouth opened and closed soundlessly and he pointed to himself like he wasn't sure I was talking to him.

"Yes, you," I said. "Don't take all day."

James stood up. I could tell he was a bit nervous.

"You two," Chiron said. "To the Big House immediately. I shall join you there shortly."

I immediately started to walked out of the mess area, grabbing James by the arm and dragging him behind me when I realized that he wasn't moving.

When we got to the Big House, I had to drag James inside.

We sat down at a large circular table right inside the door.

"Why did you pick me of all people?" James asked.

"Because you're my friend," I said. "Any more stupid questions?"

James just shook his head, frowning, as if he were deep in thought.

"It was the only logical explanation," I said. "_With the forge, travel west. _Your dad's symbol is the forge."

"You could've picked any of my siblings," James said.

"I don't know any of your siblings," I said. "Besides, it must've been important if there was a line in the prophecy about it."

"But I'm just a clumsy mess," he said. "All I do is set things on fire. Everything I touch falls apart."

"Hold on," I said. "Set things on fire?"

James's face turned red.

"Well, yeah," he said. "I'm a fire user. I'm the one who set the forge on fire."

I didn't have a chance to reply because that's when Chiron walked into the room.

"We must discuss this quest," he told us.

"What's there to discuss?" I asked. "We have to go west and find some sword."

"It's not quite that simple," Chiron said. "The sword that the prophecy was referring to is the sword of Peleus."

"The dragon?" I asked.

Chiron shook his head.

"The sword of Peleus was a sword blessed by the gods to make its wielder invincible in battle," he said. "But it was lost eons ago. The only one who might know of its location is Hephaestus, but we've no way of knowing excatly where the god is."

"Leave that to me," James said. "I can find my dad."

For once, he actually sounded confident.

"So we find this sword," I said. "Then what?"

"If the prophecy is correct," Chiron said. "We'll have to go to battle."

"Battle?" I asked.

Chiron nodded.

"Against the titans."

James gulped.

"That can't be that bad," I said. "Can it?"

"Marissa, the titans are a group of all powerful beings," Chiron said. "Last time they rose, they nearly destroyed Manhattan."

"Okay, so they are a big deal," I said. "How are we supposed to defeat them?"

"I don't know, Marissa," Chiron shook his head sadly.

There was a short silence.

"You two should go to bed early," Chiron said. "You have a big day ahead of you tomorrow."

With a word, James and I got up and left the big house for our respective cabins.

I plopped down on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. I wondered what my mom would think when she found out I was going on a quest directly against her orders.

_Not like I have much of a choice, _I thought. _Not much of a choice at all._


End file.
